It was a month after the attacks, and as Ondrasik sang the lyrics “It may sound absurd, but don’t be naive/Even heroes have the right to bleed/I may be disturbed, but won’t you concede/Even heroes have the right to dream/It’s not easy to be me” he looked out to the crowd. What he saw there touched him forever.

“It was a surreal experience, as you can imagine,” Ondrasik told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I was honored to be there and blessed to be able to say thank you through a song to those emergency workers who had been down at Ground Zero for a month, and frankly, to be able to meet the family members of those who had lost loved ones and give them hugs and shake their hands and kiss their children on the forehead and kind of share that sorrow and experience…And, hopefully through a song, I provided a little solace.”

Though the song was released in 2000, it would grow in popularity to the point where it received a 2002 Grammy Award nomination. Ondrasik said he never would’ve thought the song would even be heard on the radio.

“When I wrote that song, I was kind of like many struggling musicians who are hitting the wall of the music industry. You know, ‘It’s not easy to be me.’ I’ve learned 10 years later that it’s pretty damn easy to be me. I could never write that song now,” he said.

Stay tuned about Five For Fighting tickets, including the upcoming New Year’s show at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Calif. on Dec. 31.

Five for Fighting tickets went on sale on March 1, and the tour will continue until April 9. In the five weeks between, FFF’s John Ondrasik will have performances nearly every night.

Ondrasik is also scheduled to make an appearance on VH1’s Top 20 countdown, airing  on Tuesday, March 8 at 9 a.m.

In addition, Ondrasik will also receive a special Fatherhood Award at National Fatherhood Initiative’s 2009 Military Fatherhood Award Ceremony on June 9 in Washington, D.C. The award is for his ongoing support of the nation’s military service members and their families, as well as his dedication to his own family.

Additionally, “World” is featured in the new Sears “Grant A Wish” Holiday Campaign. Haven’t seen it? Watch the commercial here.

3 Doors Down
Alan Jackson
Daughtry
Five For Fighting
Good Charlotte
Gretchen Wilson
Isaac Hayes
Joe Perry
Josh Groban
Jude
Keith Urban
Maroon 5
Roy Orbison
Trace Adkins

The CD will be available for download at aafes.com. They are also distributing 200,000 copies to troops around the world.

Baby Borrowers is “a unique social experiment that takes five teenage couples on a rollercoaster ride of adult responsibility, allowing them to experience parenting firsthand. Desperate to have their own life and family, our lovebirds are thrown in at the deep end. They’re given houses and real responsibilities, the most important of which is to look after children from a range of age groups. They’ll begin with an infant, followed by a toddler, pre-teen, young teenager, and lastly a senior citizen,” according to the show’s official website.

Five For Fighting’s “Something About You” is the theme song for this new series!

In November 2007, Ondrasik released more than 200,000 free CD’s containing 13 songs for American Troops. The CD, titled “CD for the Troops” features artists like Maroon 5, Billy Joel, Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel, and Josh Groban.

Stay tuned for more good deeds from Five for Fighting…Perhaps some tour dates?